Looking for a car

Allright all I am now looking to buy a 98 -2004 civic ex.
see this post .

http://www.automotiveforums.com/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=184227&page=3

Anything I should be looking out for before I buy one. I dont want to be caught unawares like I was with the civic I had made posts on :)

This one is going to be for myself as I am currently driving a Geo Metro

Dont laugh :)

Anyway I know I dont have much choice because of my situation but still would rather know then not .

Thanks

No suggestions huh ?

I'm kinda new to this thing, but watch out for bad engine swaps. Lots of kids try crazy things and jack-up their cars.

will this show up in a compression check ?

Are there any tell tell signs of this ?

Test drive it and take it to a mechanic you trust to have them look it over. Do a check on www.carfax.com (http://www.carfax.com) too.

Since 99-2004 Civics are still relatively new, you should just look for the basic things, regular maintenance, good paint (hopefully there wouldn't be any rust on a car that new), motor runs and idles good, and the car drives good as a whole.

Some pointers to look for people who drive their car hard or in constant stop and go traffic is check out the pedals, lots of wear on the clutch and brake pedals obviously means they have been used a lot. A lot of side to side movement in the shifter while in gear could mean worn bushings or loose linkage which is usually caused by hard shifting.

Since 99-2004 Civics are still relatively new, you should just look for the basic things, regular maintenance, good paint (hopefully there wouldn't be any rust on a car that new), motor runs and idles good, and the car drives good as a whole.

Some pointers to look for people who drive their car hard or in constant stop and go traffic is check out the pedals, lots of wear on the clutch and brake pedals obviously means they have been used a lot. A lot of side to side movement in the shifter while in gear could mean worn bushings or loose linkage which is usually caused by hard shifting.
well said thanks for saving me some typing :icon16:

It also never hurts to have the compression checked. It's really easy to do on a piston style motor (vs a rotary) like most motors are. Also, check the brakes, see how much is left on the front and rear brakes. When the brake-work was done, did they only replace the pads and not machine the rotor, or was it done properly. Take it for a drive, down a hill, apple to the brake, does it shake? If so you have wrapped rotors or drums, and they lilely weren't machined when the pads where done. If something feels wrong on the test drive, it probably is. Check the undercarriage, the wheel wells, etc for rust. Also check the alginment of the body panels. Check the tires for wear. Also, it doesn't hurt to take it down a flat striaght road, a newer road is avisable. Is the steering wheel striaght or is is stanted when you are driving straight? If the wheel is slanted, the car is out of alignment. It's around $70-80 for a good 4 wheel computerize alginment. If they are bigger or smaller gaps in an area where their shouldn't be, chances are it was hit a little and carfax didn't catch it. Carfax is good, but it won't catch everything, especially if it's a wreck that occured while the car was parked or it wasn't reported and was "fixed" out of pocket and without insurence, etc. A more accurate way to see what the car has been through if a CLUE (Compreshive Underwriting Loss Report). This will show the ENITRE claims history of the vehicle, how much was paid out, what type of incident it was filed under, etc. However, unless you know someone in the insurence industry, I don't know how you'd go across pulling a clue yourself. If you can though, it can be VERY helpful. Still, pull a carfax report, as it WILL catch some things and is definatly better than nothing.

A good way to check out the paint and body is to ask if you can wash the car before you buy it. When soaping down, rinsing and drying off the body panels, you will get a closer look @ the paint, the body, the knicks, etc. This will help you catch things you might have missed until later on. If a spot looks unusually dull, etc the clearcoat may be gone and it may be starting to oxidize. When I'm detailing cars, I have seen some newer cars that suprisingly have oxidzied and have no clear coat left. This is often due to a person that has no business detailing a car trying to buff it with a rotary buff, and instead of impriving it they end up burning though the clear coat (very bad)!!

I hope all this info helps a bit.